In 2012, Sebastian Vettel won the championship for the third time, the youngest driver to win 3 championships on consecutive occasions; Lewis Hamilton agreed to join Mercedes from McClaren and Kimi Raikkonen drove superbly in his first season back since retiring. Now testing is well and truly underway in Jerez, but who is better equipped ahead of the much anticipated 2013 season.

Red Bull

Following on from last year successes by clinching the drivers’ championship and constructors championship, Red Bull looked to have created a much improved car that is well and truly capable of doing exactly the same in 2013. The new RB9 is said to be hugely consistent, with no mechanical glitches, and is setting a consistent and fast pace that is averaging 1:18:565 in Jerez by both Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. However, as the season approaches, due to Vettel proven record, can Webber produce more of a threat to Vettel and other drivers in 2013?

Ferrari

Ferrari had a troublesome time last season. Spaniard, Fernando Alonso was pipped to the post by Vettel, after the F2012 was pegged back in the closing stages of the season. Fellow Ferrari driver, Felipe Massa was nowhere to be seen in 2012, finishing with a rather disappointing 122 points, considering his tremendous ability to drive. However, the new F138 is proving to be a very quick car for 2013, clocking in at 1:17:879, and one of the fastest cars in practice, with improvements still to be made. However, is it still the case for Massa, in that he will always be 2nd best to Fernando Alonso?

McClaren

After setting the pace in Jerez, Jenson Button and co put McClaren as the fastest in practice. Jenson Button recorded a time of 1:18:861 on hard tyres in the first couple days of practice. However, other teams, including Lotus, have caught up, and Martin Whitmarsh may be quacking in his boots. Sergio Perez, who replaced Hamilton, is still to find his feet with the new model, and the new car has had its fair share of problems. The fuel pump and front suspension are the main concerns for McClaren, but can recoup and get it together ahead of the first race in Austrailia?

Mercedes

Despite Nico Rosberg experiencing one of his best seasons to date in 2012, with a win, and a couple of pole positions, and Mercedes recruiting Lewis Hamilton as their other driver, the new WO4 has not proven its worth. A fire to Hamilton’s car was not the start Ross Brawn would have wanted for Mercedes, and a brake failure the following day caused Hamilton to crash into the barriers. Looking at the new car, Hamilton said the car needs more work. Are Mercedes ready for the new season, and has welcoming Hamilton on board been too much of a gamble?

Lotus

It looks as though there could be a dark horse in the 2013 season, and a challenge for Vettel and Red Bull to face, as Lotus look like a force to be beckoned with. The first 2 days of testing saw Frenchman, Romain Grosjean and the ever eccentric, Kimi Raikkonen produce the fastest times for Lotus. The new E21 is said to carry more petrol than usual and keep a fast speed, which is quite a surprise, according to technical director, James Allison. With a win to his name last season, ending on a staggering 207 points last season, and driving a much improved car for 2013, can Raikkonen rekindle the glory days for Lotus F1?

Sauber

Nico Hulkenburg is back in the hot seat with Sauber, alongside new recruit, Esteban Gutierrez, and it looks as though the new C32 can become a threat for 2013. After missing the whole of last season, Hulkenburg has said the new car is’ aesthetically pleasing’ and a ‘fast car’. Well renowned for its fast cornering and great tyre performance over long runs, the C32 is looking like it may be up for the challenge next season, however, can it sustain amount of pressure to challenge the big hitters of F1?

Force India

Young and promising British driver, Paul Di Resta, was tipped to replace Hamilton at McClaren, and continue the all British drivers for the British team. However, he still remains at Force India, and with VJM06 in full swing, from the four days of testing so far, there will not be many changes from last season. Nevertheless, co-driver, and new recruit, Jules Bianchi, looks a driver to look for in the future, setting the second fastest time of day 2 in Jerez and Ferrari are already keeping tabs on the youngster.

Williams

Pastor Maldonado and new driver, Valtteri Bottas, have been made to wait before driving the new FW35, as the Williams have decided to skip testing in Jerez, and focus more on testing in Barcelona. Despite a win in Spain, after a pole position on the grid last season, Maldonado rather dipped in form finishing with only 45 points to his name. With Maldonado’s from, an unknown driver in Bottas in the driver’s seat and skipping testing in Jerez, is it time to panic for the Williams team?

Toro Rosso

Jean-Eric Vergne has said that there are substantial changes from the predecessors of last term, however, at the moment, there has been a slight change in the times, which have gone slightly faster. With Daniel Ricciardo and Vergne confirmed as the Toro Rosso drivers for 2013, it looks as though they have to push the car to its very limit, come 2013. Unless Toro Rosso make substantial changes to the new STR8, Ricciardo and Vergne are in for a long season ahead.

Caterham

With Heikki Kovalainen gone, Vitaly Petrov not even involved for 2013 and Jarno Trulli rejecting advances from Caterham, it looks as though Frenchman, Charles Pic and debutant, Giedo Van Der Garde are in for a long and perilous voyage for Caterham. Furthermore, with lap times tumbling, and a new exhaust filter that was dubbed illegal, it is not the start that Caterham would have wanted. Can they pull it back, in order to mainstay there chances in the upcoming season?

Marussia

Marussia’s new line up of Englishman, Max Chilton, who came from Formula 3 racing, and Brazil’s Luiz Razia, a breath of fresh air is set to grace the F1 tracks, with the new drivers and new car. With Marussia not expected to finish in a high position, they can come away with the fact they have completed all four days of testing in Jerez with no major problems, and have finally installed the new KERS system to the new car. Can the Marussia prove most people wrong and finish higher than expected?

DRS, known as the Decision Review System, is a technology based system used to review controversial decisions made by on-field umpires in the subsequent scenario of the batsman being dismissed. There are two main components of the DRS system. Firstly, there is Hawk Eye, which is ball tracking technology that plots the trajectory of a bowling delivery that has been interrupted by the batsman, and it will also determine whether the ball would consequently hit the stumps or not. The second component to the Decision Review System is Hot Spot, which is an infra-red camera devise which shows where the ball has been in contact with the pad or bat.

However, the DRS system is not in place for all international matches, and it has made many international nations rather angry that it is not a mandatory tool. Firstly, in the rules and regulations, is the decision of the international boards whether or not to include the DRS system and not the International Cricket Council (ICC). Secondly, with the use of the DRS system, there is no real need for the umpires, as video technology alone can determine the correct decision of a piece of controversial incident that has happened in a Test match.

One nation that is rather sceptical about the DRS system’s accuracy is top ranked nation in the ICC rankings, India. England have a four day tour of India coming up and are not to pleased with India, because of the exclusion of the DRS system. The Indian board feel that the Hawk Eye and Hot Spot technology is not up to professional and is sometimes inaccurate. However, from my perspective, I think that this excuse is rather pathetic, as most nations are in favour of this technology. Furthermore, I truly believe that many other sports, like Football, can learn from this and introduce technology, especially Hawk Eye into their respective sports.

However, without the technology, broadcasters still use it for their productions so that viewers can see the contentious decisions made by the umpires without the technology, and maybe, this could be classed as acceptable. There is one fundamental reason why broadcasters take advantage of the umpires not using it, entertainment. Cricket, and all other sports, is a perfect platform for controversy, and for broadcasters to use this in there productions create many talking points and drama. This increases the viewing stats, and therefore, more people watch more one day internationals.

On the basis of all of these points, the question beckons, should the DRS system be used in all competitions? From my perspective, I think it should, solely because it creates a level playing field, and with the game of Cricket being surrounded by match fixing, I think that the last thing that Cricket needs is more controversy on and off the field.